Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith (born Jerrald Goldsmith) is best known as musical composer of several of the themes from the Star Trek series and movies. He was nominated for eighteen Academy Awards (and won one), and also won five Emmy Awards. Jerry Goldsmith originally intended to become a concert hall composer, but soon realized that the infrequency of concert hall commissions would never satisfy his hunger to write music. He began studying piano at the age of 6, and was studying composition at age 14. He became acquainted with the legendary composer Miklós Rózsa, and attended his classes in film composition at the University of South California. In 1950, he was employed as a clerk typist in the music department at CBS. It was there that he was given his first assignments as a composer for radio shows, such as Romance and CBS Radio Workshop. He would stay with CBS until 1960, having already scored The Twilight Zone. He was hired by Revue Studios to score their Thriller series, which lead on to further television commissions. In 1962, Goldsmith was awarded his first Oscar nomination for his acclaimed score to the poorly-recieved John Huston picture Freud. At the same time, he became acquainted with influential film composer Alfred Newman, who, recognizing Goldsmith's talents, influenced Universal into hiring him to score the film Lonely Are The Brave in 1963. From the on, Goldsmith established himself as a leading name in American film music. In 1979, Goldsmith scored what is generally considered his greatest work: Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Here, Goldsmith was tasked with re-inventing a franchise and creating a brand new theme. He himself remarked it was the toughest he ever wrote, and it remains a remarkable achievement. At the behest of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, it later became the signature theme for Star Trek: The Next Generation. In 1989, Goldsmith scored Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, and in 1995, he also wrote the main title theme]] for Star Trek: Voyager. The 1990s brought another of Goldsmith's finest works, the beautiful score to The Russia House for director Fred Schepisi. Action epics such as Air Force One and The Mummy were also scored by Goldsmith, as well as more challenging assignments such as the big screen adaption of Six Degrees Of Separation and the critically acclaimed thriller LA Confidential. Other films he scored include The Omen, Planet of the Apes, Chinatown, Basic Instinct, Alien, Gremlins, The Twilight Zone, Poltergeist, Total Recall, Rambo, Congo and The Sum of all Fears. Star Trek fans will mostly remember his well-received theme for Star Trek: First Contact, and Goldsmith would also provide the music for Star Trek: Insurrection. By the early 2000s, Goldsmith's health began to take its toll, and prevent him from working as much as he once did. However, he did finish his work on the franchise with Star Trek: Nemesis, making this the third collaboration with British director Stuart Baird. Sadly, Jerry Goldsmith died of cancer on July 21, 2004, in Beverly Hills, California. External Links * * Goldsmith, Jerry de:Jerry Goldsmith es:Jerry Goldsmith